Huck Finn Post #3

    After losing Jim on the Mississippi River Huck yet again is laking a family like presence in his life. It did not take him long though to settle down with another family. Huck stumbled out of the river only to be greeted at gunpoint by the Grangerford family. They finally realized he was not a family enemy and accepted Huck into their massive plantation home. The Grangerfords is a rather odd family that is basically at war with the Shepherdsons and the two will kill each other on site. The interior of the Grangerford estate is a crude environment at best. Tacky artwork and decorations were plastered on the walls of the home. Most of the art was composed by Emmeline, the Grangerford's young and deceased daughter. "One was a woman in a slim black dress... and she was leaning pensive on a tombstone on her right elbow."(Twain 103) Her art was focussed solely on death. Twain in doing this was mocking the victorian age in a humorous way.
    The Grangerfords live a very sad life. The feud between them and the Shepherdsons has raged on for years. This is quite fascinating though because there is absolutely no driving force behind this hatred."I says: Did you want to kill him, Buck? Well, I bet I did. What did he do to you? Him? He never done nothing to me. Well, then, what did you want to kill him for? Why, nothing-only it's on account of the feud."(Twain 109) This conversation within Itself is sad. Buck Grangerford was going to kill an innocent person all because of an out-dated feud. The hunter in this situation didn't even know why he was going to kill his prey. Later on Buck is hunted down and killed which is probably one of the most dramatic and sad scene in the the entire novel. I just find it sad and can't comprehend why someone would kill another without a cause and on top of that kill a kid.
    Within this awful feud there is also many references to the play "Romeo and Juliet". Both families are rich and located at the top of society. Both murder each other. Both have no moral reason for all the trouble they cause. The main allusion regarding the two families though is the crush between Harney Shepherdson and Sophia Grangerford. "She pulled me in and shut the door; then she looked in the Testament till she found the paper, and as soon as she read it she looked glad."(Twain 112) The two ran away together leaving their awful families behind. This caused a huge battle between the two families when they realized what had happened and unfortunately it was Buck's last. Instead of the two lovers dying another family member did. In doing this Twain basically mocked Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" by changing the conclusion. In all, Huck's experience with the Grangerfords was unique and he learned many moral lessons necessary to make it in the world he was living in back then.